Autistic Archetypes
(coming soon) This page collects information about ways that Autistic (and similarly neurodivergent) people have been described in cultural records throughout history, prior to the modern diagnosis of Autism or in locales where the diagnosis is not yet common. Absent-minded Genius "The absent-minded professor is a stock character of popular fiction, usually portrayed as a talented academic whose academic brilliance is accompanied by below-par functioning in other areas, leading to forgetfulness and mistakes. One explanation of this is that highly talented individuals often have unevenly distributed capabilities, being brilliant in their field of choice but below average on other measures of ability. Alternatively, they are considered to be so engrossed in their field of study that they forget their surroundings."https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absent-minded_professor "The stereotype is very old: the ancient Greek biographer Diogenes Laërtius wrote that the philosopher Thales walked at night with his eyes focused on the heavens and, as a result, fell down a well."Diogenes Laërtius, Lives of the Eminent Philosophers, "Thales" Examples "Isaac Newton, Adam Smith, André-Marie Ampère, Jacques Hadamard, Sewall Wright, Nikola Tesla, Norbert Wiener, Archimedes, Pierre Curie and Albert Einstein were all scholars considered to be absent-minded – their attention absorbed by their academic studies. William Archibald Spooner, who gave his name to the spoonerism, was known for his absent-mindedness and eccentricity." Mystical Children Changelings "A changeling is a creature found in folklore and folk religion. A changeling child was believed to be a fairy child that had been left in place of a human child stolen by the fairies. The theme of the swapped child is common in medieval literature and reflects concern over infants thought to be afflicted with unexplained diseases, disorders, or developmental disabilities."https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Changeling "As noted, it has been hypothesized that the changeling legend may have developed, or at least been used, to explain the peculiarities of children who did not develop normally, probably including all sorts of developmental delays and abnormalities. In particular, it has been suggested that children with autism would be likely to be labeled as changelings or elf-children due to their strange, sometimes inexplicable behavior. For example, this association might explain why fairies are often described as having an obsessive impulse to count things like handfuls of spilled seeds. This has found a place in autistic culture. Some autistic adults have come to identify with changelings (or other replacements, such as aliens) for this reason and their own feeling of being in a world where they do not belong and of practically not being the same species as the other people around them."Duff, Kim. "The Role of Changeling Lore in Autistic Culture''".'' Presentation at the 1999 Autreat conference of Autism Network International.'' Evidence for autism in folklore? "Fairytales from the British Isles, Germany, and Scandinavia include stories about changelings. They describe a child who exhibits remarkable and sudden changes in behaviour and/or appearance, explaining that supernatural folk steal normal children and replace them with one of their own, or some other substitute. The new child—the changeling—is characterised by unresponsiveness, resistance to physical affection, obstreperousness, inability to express emotion, and unexplained crying and physical changes such as rigidity and deformity. Some are unable to speak." Indigo Children https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indigo_children "The term "indigo children" originated with parapsychologist and self-described synesthete and psychic Nancy Ann Tappe, who developed the concept in the 1970s. Tappe published the book ''Understanding Your Life Through Color in 1982 describing the concept, stating that during the mid-1960s she began noticing that many children were being born with "indigo" auras (in other publications Tappe said the color indigo came from the "life colors" of the children which she acquired through her synesthesia)." Synesthesia is a common co-morbidity with autism, so this link seems relevant. Autism, ADD and ADHD linked to Indigos, Crystals, Blue rays, Rainbows, etc. References Category:Autism Spectrum Category:Culture Category:Neurodivergent People